This invention relates to an echographic suction cannula and, more specifically, to an improved medical device for liposuction.
Liposuction is a medical procedure for the aspiration and evacuation of fat from under the skin, and is performed by applying a negative pressure to a cannula, or a plain suction tube, which is moved under the skin surface through a small incision. With the devices currently available for liposuction, pinching of the skin is the only method of estimating the effect of liposuction during treatment on the thickness of fat remaining under the skin. Prior art suction cannulas for liposuction do not provide any means for precisely and continuously monitor the thickness of the remaining tissue during treatment, and the position of such cannulas within the tissue being treated can be estimated only by palpation. Consequently, surface irregularities and asymmetry were not uncommon, spoiling a large proportion of aesthetic results. This has also led to cannula malpositioning. A cannula, positioned too close to the dermis or to the muscle fascia, may cause surface dimples and furrows. If false passages are made into the deeper vital structure such as intra-abdominal organs, the consequence of cannula malpositioning can be serious enough to be life-threatening.
Tissue thickness can be measured and displayed by current medical imaging techniques, such as ultrasonography, xeroradiography or magnetic resonance imaging, but their use during liposuction would require interruptions of the operation, and contaminated heavy equipment would have to be brought to the sterile field. Moreover, the equipment would have to be retrieved before the operation can be resumed, and this would have to be repeated any number of times during an operation. As a result, such currently available imaging techniques are seldom used during liposuction and are primarily reserved for pre-operative and post-operative evaluations.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention in view of the above to provide a suction cannula which can make liposuction a safer procedure and to thereby make it possible to obtain a larger proportion of pleasant aesthetic results.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a suction cannula for liposuction which will, when connected to an appropriate electronic circuitry, allow continuous, precise monitoring, visual display and recording of the thickness of fatty tissue.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a suction cannula which also allows display and recording of the position of the cannula within the thickness of the tissue being treated.